3 & 4 Unequivocal (Mufassar) and Perspicuous (Muhkam)

I. 3 & 4 Unequivocal (Mufassar) and Perspicuous (Muhkam)

Mufassar is a word or a text whose meaning is completely clear and is, in the meantime, in harmony with the context in which it appears. Because of this and the high level of clarity in the meaning of Mufassar, there is no need for recourse to ta'wil. But the Mufassar may still be open to abrogation which might, in reference to the Qur'an and Sunnah, have taken place during the lifetime of the Prophet. The idea of the Mufassar, as the word itself implies, is that the text explains itself. The Lawgiver has, in other words, explained His own intentions with complete clarity, and the occasion for ta'wil does not arise. The Mufassar occurs in two varieties, one being the text which is self-explained, or Mufassar bidhatih, and the other is when the ambiguity in one text is clarified and explained by another. This is known as Mufassar bighayrih, in which case the two texts become an integral part of one another and

the two combine to constitute a Mufassar. [20. Abu Zahrah, Usul, p. 96; Badran, Usul, pp. 404-405.] An example of Mufassar in the Qur'an is the text in sura al-Tawbah (9:36) which addresses the believers to 'fight the

pagans all together (kaffah) as they fight you all together'. The word 'kaffah' which occurs twice in this text precludes the possibility of applying specification (takhsis) to the words preceding it, namely the pagans (mushrikin). Mufassar occurs in many a modern statute with regard to specified crimes and their

We sent it [the Qur'an] down on the Night of Qadr. What will make you realise what the Night of Qadr is like?[...] It is the night in which angels and the spirit descend [...] (al-Qadr, 97:1-4).

The text thus explains the 'laylah al-qadr' and as a result of the explanation so provided, the text becomes self-explained, or Mufassar. Hence there is no need for recourse to ta'wil. Sometimes the ambiguous of the Qur'an is clarified by the Sunnah, and when this is the case, the clarification given by the Sunnah becomes an integral part of the Qur'an. There are numerous examples of this, such as the words salah, zakah, hajj, riba, which occur in the following ayat:

Perform the salah and pay the zakah (al-Nahl, 16:44)

God has enacted upon people the pilgrimage of hajj to be performed by all who are capable of it (Al-'Imran, 3:97).

God permitted sale and prohibited usury (riba ) (al-Baqarah, 2:275).

The juridical meanings of salah, zakah, hajj and riba could not be known from the brief references that are made to them in these ayat. Hence the Prophet provided the necessary explanation in the form of both verbal and practical instructions. In this way the text which was initially ambivalent (mujmal) became Mufassar. With regard to salah, for example, the Prophet instructed his followers to 'perform the salah the way you see me performing it', and regarding the hajj he ordered them to 'take from me

the rituals of the hajj. [21. Tabrizi, Mishkat, I, 215, Hadith no. 683; Shatibi, Muwafaqat III, 178; Khallaf, 'Ilm, p.167; Badran, Usul, p. 405.]

There are also many ahadith which explain the Qur'anic prohibition of riba in specific and elaborate detail.

The value (hukm) of the Mufassar is that acting upon it is obligatory. The clear meaning of a Mufassar is not open to interpretation and unless it has been abrogated, the obvious text must be followed. But since abrogation of the Qur'an and Sunnah discontinued upon the demise of the Prophet, to all intents and purposes, the Mufassar is equivalent to the perspicuous (Muhkam), which is the last in the range of clear words and is not open to any change.

Specific words (al-alfaz al-khassah) which are not open to ta'wil or any change in their primary meanings are in the nature of Mufassar. Thus the Qur'anic punishment of eighty lashes for slanderous accusation (qadhf) in sura al-Nur (24:4), or the ayah of inheritance (al-Nisa', 4:11) which prescribes specific shares for legal heirs, consist of fixed numbers which rule out the possibility of ta'wil. They all

partake in the qualities of Mufassar. [22. Badran, Usul, p. 404.]

Since Mufassar is one degree stronger than Nass, in the event of a conflict between them, the Mufassar prevails. This can be illustrated in the two hadiths concerning the ablution of a woman who experiences irregular menstruations that last longer than the expected three days or so: she is required to perform the salah; as for the ablution (wudu') for salah, she is instructed, according to one Hadith:

A woman in prolonged menstruations must make a fresh wudu' for every salah: [23. Abu

Dawud, Sunan, I, 76, Hadith nos. 294, and 304 respectively.]

And according to another Hadith

A woman in prolonged menstruation must make a fresh wudu' at the time of every salah. [24. Abu Dawud, Sunan, I, 76, Hadith nos. 294, and 304 respectively.]

The first Hadith is a Nass on the requirement of a fresh wudu' for every salah, but the second Hadith is

a Mufassar which does not admit of any ta'wil. The first Hadith is not completely categorical as to whether 'every salah' applies to both obligatory and supererogatory (fara'id wa-nawafil) types of salah. Supposing that they are both performed at the same time, would a separate wudu' be required for each? But this ambiguity/ question does not arise under the second Hadith as the latter provides complete instruction: a wudu' is only required at the time of every salah and the same wudu' is sufficient for any

number of salahs at that particular time. [25. Khallaf, 'Ilm, p. 169; Badran, Usul, p. 408.]

Words and sentences whose meaning is clear beyond doubt and are not open to ta'wil and abrogation are called Muhkam. An example of this is the frequently occurring Qur'anic statement that 'God knows all things'. This kind of statement cannot be abrogated, either in the lifetime of the Prophet, or after his

demise. [26. Hughes, Dictionary of Islam, p.518; Badran, Usul, p. 406; Abu Zahrah, Usul, p.96.] The text may sometimes explain itself in terms that would preclude the possibility of abrogation. An example of this is the Qur'anic address to

the believers concerning the wives of the Prophet: 'It is not right for you to annoy the Messenger of God; nor should you ever marry his widows after him. For that is truly an enormity in God's sight' (al- Ahzab, 33:35). The prohibition here is emphasised by the word abadan (never, ever) which renders it Muhkam, thereby precluding the possibility of abrogation. The Muhkam is, in reality, nothing other than Mufassar with one difference, namely that Muhkam is not open to abrogation. An example of Muhkam in the Sunnah is the ruling concerning jihad which provides that 'jihad (holy struggle) remains valid till

the day of resurrection'. [27. Abu Dawud, Sunan, II, 702, Hadith no. 2526; Abu Zahrah, Usul, p. 96.]

The ulema of usul have given the Qur'anic ayah on slanderous accusation as another example of Muhkam, despite some differences of interpretation that have arisen over it among the Hanafi and Shafi'i jurists. The ayah provides, concerning persons who are convicted and punished for slanderous accusation (qadhf): 'And accept not their testimony ever, for such people are transgressors' (al-Nur, 24:4). Once again the occurrence of abadan ('for ever') in this text renders it Muhkam and precludes all possibility of abrogation. The Hanafis have held that the express terms of this ayah admit of no exception. A qadhif, that is, a slanderous accuser, may never be admitted as a witness even if he repents. But according to the Shafi'is, if the qadhif repents after punishment, he may be admitted as a witness. The reason for this exception, according to the Shafi'is, is given in the subsequent portion of the same text, which reads: 'Unless they repent afterwards, and rectify themselves.' The grounds of these differential interpretations need not be elaborated here. Suffice it to point out that the differences are over the understanding of the pronouns in the text, whether they refer to the qadhif and transgressors

The Muhkam is not open to abrogation. This may be indicated in the text itself, as in the foregoing examples, or it may be due to the absence of an abrogating text. The former is known as Muhkam bidhatih, or Muhkam by itself, and the second as Muhkam bighayrih, or Muhkam because of another

factor. [28. Abu Zahrah, Usul, p. 96; Badran, Usul, p. 406.]

The purpose of the foregoing distinction between the four types of clear words is to identify their propensity or otherwise to ta'wil, that is, of admitting a meaning other than their obvious meaning, and whether or not they are open to abrogation. If a word is not open to either of these possibilities, it would follow that it retains its original or primary meaning and admits of no other interpretation. The present classification, in other words, contemplates the scope of ta'wil in that the latter is applicable only to the Zahir and Nass but not to the Mufassar and Muhkam. The next purpose of this classification is to provide guidelines for resolving possible conflicts between the various categories of words. In this way an order of priority is established by which the Muhkam prevails over the other three varieties of clear words and the Mufassar takes priority over the Nass, and so on. But this order of priority applies only when the two conflicting texts both occur in the Qur'an. However, when a conflict arises between, say, the Zahir of the Qur'an and the Nass of the Sunnah, the former would prevail despite its being one degree weaker in the order of priority. This may be illustrated by the ayah of the Qur'an concerning guardianship in marriage, which is in the nature of Zahir. The ayah provides: 'If he has divorced her, then she is not lawful to him until she marries (hatta tankiha) another man' (al-Baqarah, 2:229). This text is Zahir in respect of guardianship as its principal theme is divorce, not guardianship. From the Arabic form of the word 'tankiha' in this text, the Hanafis have drawn the additional conclusion that an adult woman can contract her own marriage, without the presence of a guardian. However there is a Hadith on the subject of guardianship which is in the nature of Nass, which provides that 'there shall be

no marriage without a guardian (wali). [29. Abu Dawud, Sunan (Hasan's trans.), II, 555 Hadith no. 2078; Badran, Usul, p. 408.]

This Hadith is more specific on the point that a woman must be contracted in marriage by her guardian. Notwithstanding this, however, the Zahir of the Qur'an is given priority, by the Hanafis at least, over the Nass of the Hadith. The majority of ulema have, however, followed the ruling of the Sunnah on this

point. [30. Badran,Usul, p.409.]